Hello,
I know it's been a while since I was last on here, but I wanted to make a quick post regarding the track selection for the Second Breath concert. I know that this is going to be a bit obvious, but I wanted to make note of the track list for the concert. Based on an image of the concert program that was seen online, the songs played at the concert are:
- Hikari -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-: orchestral version of "Simple and Clean"/"Hikari", the Utada Hikaru theme song from Kingdom Hearts.
- Journey of the World of Tres: likely a medley of music from Kingdom Hearts III, although it isn't known which songs they chose to include for the concert. I would not be surprised if it predominately field or battle themes for each of the worlds in KH3, since musical material from Takeharu Ishimoto (the composer for the Caribbean and San Fransokyo field and battle themes, as well as battle tracks like "Anger Unchained" and the "Dark Domination" trio) was used according to Natsumi Kameoka in a Tweet made after the concert.
- Heroes and Heroines: Characters' Medley -Second Breath Ver.-: likely a new version of the Character Medley from the World Tour concert, which included Sora, Riku, Kairi, Namine, Roxas, Xion, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, and Vanitas' character themes. Considering Souhei Kano (the arranger of the original Character Medley) worked on this particular concert, I think it is likely that same piece, minus the presence of the string section from the orchestra (given it is a Wind orchestra instead of an orchestra).
- "Hollow Bastion": most likely an arrangement of the Hollow Bastion field theme from KH1. I wouldn't be surprised if "Scherzo Di Notte" (the Hollow Bastion battle theme) was incorporated into this arrangement as well. The Hollow Bastion field theme was previous in a medley of worlds from KH1 in First Breath.
- Happiest Medley of KINGDOM HEARTS: no idea what this could probably be. Maybe an arrangement of various lighthearted Disney interaction themes (like "A Walk in Andante", "Laughter and Merriment", and "Innocent Times"), considering the "Happiest" part of the title?
- "Dark Impetus": the battle theme for the Mysterious Figure (Young Xehanort) secret boss from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. This is the first time the song has been done as a singular piece, as other times it has been covered for orchestra has been in a medley of boss themes.
- "Rage Awakened": the battle theme for the Terra's Lingering Will secret boss from Kingdom Hearts II. Like "Dark Impetus", it had previously been covered in orchestra for boss theme medleys. Now it is a singular piece for this concert.
- "Distant from You...": an event theme that appeared in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Some notable scenes that play for this song include when Sora sees Namine and Xion while in The World That Never Was and when Riku is on Destiny Islands conversing with Roxas, Ventus, and Xion [both near the end of the game's story].
- Scala ad Caelum-Edge of Existence: a medley of the field and battle themes for Scala ad Caelum in Kingdom Hearts III. "Scala ad Caelum" was originally an event theme associated with the Foretellers' duties in Kingdom Hearts: χ [chi] Back Cover. "Scala ad Caelum" was part of a medley in the World of Tres concert previously.
- "Hearts as One": the boss theme against Saix in Kingdom Hearts III. This is a mash up of "The Other Promise" and "Vector to the Heavens", Roxas and Xions' iconic battle themes from KH2 and 358/2 Days respectively. As both "The Other Promise" and "Vector to the Heavens" were covered as individual pieces in previous concerts, the selection of "Hearts as One" was likely meant to represent them. [For posterity, the original "Hearts as One" was arranged by Shotaro Shima]
- "Forza Finale": the boss theme against Ansem, Xenmas, and Young Xehanort in KH3. This is a mash up of "Forze del Male", "L'Impeto Oscuro" (a remix of the afformentioned "Dark Impetus"), and "Darkness of the Unknown", the boss themes for Ansem, Young Xehanort, and Xenmas in KH1, KH3D, and KH2 respectively. Since the World Tour concert previously had a final boss theme medley in "Let Darkness Assemble", this is likely meant to represent that medley here as well. [For posterity, the original "Forza Finale" was arranged by Yasunori Nishiki, the composer of the Octopath Traveler series and arranger of "One Winged Angel - Rebirth" in Final Fantasy VII Remake, just to demonstrate the guy's talent]
- "March Caprice for "Melody of Memory"": the ending credits song of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (the most recent game of the series, barring the finales of Kingdom Hearts Union χ [cross] and Dark Road, which came after MOM's release). This is arrangement of the Melody of Memory version of "Dearly Beloved", with elements of the original March Caprice for Piano & Orchestra from KH1's ending credits.
- "Reality in the Dark": the Kingdom Hearts IV reveal trailer music. It is not listed in the program that is going around, but it was said to have been played at the concert as a surprise piece.
Note: arrangements of these tracks are done by Kaoru Wada, Natsumi Kameoka, and Souhei Kano
I really like the general track selection for this concert. I enjoyed the original Character Medley from World Tour, so I am curious what the Second Breath version would sound like. I am also curious what the Journey of the World of Tres and Happiest Medley of KINGDOM HEARTS would sound like, considering what their titles are suggesting. I am a bit surprised there is no "Dearly Beloved" or "Destati" pieces in the concert, considering their importance to the series, or the presence of other well-known tracks like "Organization XIII" or "Nachtflugel". However, I think this may be because they're trying to make Second Breath different from First Breath (which had "Destati", "Dearly Beloved", and "Another Side" as tracks), so they may have been trying to make the Second Breath concerts feel a bit different from First Breath. Overall, I think this concert looks really great.
